Los Cabos: contrasts You´ll fall in love with

October 21, 2026

By Esther Pang Velasco

Photos: Rommel Rosales

Los Cabos is a versatile destination offering something exciting for everyone. It is a land of contrasts that delights ecotourism adventurers, food lovers, and art and culture enthusiasts alike. Fly direct to San José del Cabo and let yourself be surprised by everything this destination has in store.

Two destinations, two ways to enjoy

There’s something about Los Cabos that makes so many people choose it as a place to settle down. Talking with the “locals,” their stories tend to align: a visit, a temporary job, or a love story brought them here, and they never looked back. These towns are today a colorful mosaic of people who arrived from different parts of Mexico and now proudly identify as “choyeros” (locals of Los Cabos), enriching the destination with their flavors and traditions.

To plan your visit: if you’re looking for water sports, beaches, shopping malls, and nightlife, choose Cabo San Lucas. If you prefer an unhurried stay, with quiet beaches, art galleries, and cobblestone streets full of handicrafts, San José del Cabo is your place. The short distance between the two lets you have it all: split your stay and make it back in time for sunset.

The tricky thing about Los Cabos isn´t choosing what to do, but deciding where to start.

Cabo San Lucas

Admiring the horizon from the Rooftop 360 at Corazón Cabo Resort & Spa is quite a spectacular experience. The complex sits across from Playa El Médano and just steps from shopping centers, luxury stores, craft markets, and nightlife.

From here we head out to sea. At the pier, after a symbolic tribute to the Fishermen’s Union, we board a boat toward Land’s End, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific.

It’s a chance to see the legendary Lover’s Beach and Divorce Beach up close, take photos with the Arch of Cabo San Lucas, and snorkel near Pelican Rock. Esperanza’s Tours also offers city tours focused on shopping, tequila tasting, or hearing the legends of Los Cabos.

San José del Cabo

The papel picado banners dancing in the wind and the central plaza announce your arrival in San José del Cabo. LAIVA welcomes us to the Historic District, its mauve-toned walls blending with the sunset. Take a leisurely stroll through the surrounding streets to discover craft markets and art galleries.

A few blocks away, San José del Criollo brings a little piece of Oaxaca to the city. Its Mexa Goto concept offers a nine-course menu around a shared table, where anticipation builds as you watch the team work with an almost choreographic rhythm. Squash soups, beef barbacoa tacos, moles, and chorizo sopes arrive along with their history, narrated by the chefs as they cook. Reserve ahead of time to secure your spot.

A little further north, we visit Flora Farms. Ana, our host, reminds us how love can sustain a project like this one.

Thirty years ago, the Greene couple arrived from San Francisco to watch a solar eclipse and never left. They turned arid land into one of the most iconic destinations in Baja California Sur. Flora Farms is a 25-acre organic farm with a farm-to-table restaurant, where everything comes from its own orchard or a neighboring ranch that practices humane farming. It also houses residences, a grocery store, a spa, and wedding gardens: a tribute from the Greenes to the land they now call home.

San José del Criollo blends the traditional techniques and flavors of Oaxacan cuisine with fresh local ingredients from Baja California Sur.

Day-trip experiences

In Baja California Sur, distances grow according to the uniqueness of the experience. If you’re wondering whether the trip is worth it, the answer may lie at the end of the road. That’s how Sol de Mayo, Cabo Pulmo, and the museums of El Triunfo amazed us.

At Sol de Mayo, we discovered another side of Baja California Sur deep in the mountains, in the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. Mauri, our guide from High Tide Los Cabos, introduced us to the local flora and fauna. After a short but steep hike, we reached Cañón de la Zorra, a refuge with a lake and waterfall.

Two hours from San José, we returned to the sea at Cabo Pulmo National Park, known as the “Aquarium of the World.” This UNESCO-protected area and conservation success story has inspired documentaries.

In the 1990s, the area was devastated by indiscriminate resource extraction; today you can admire the roughly 20,000-year-old reefs, more than 800 marine species, sharks, cetaceans, endangered sea turtles, and, with luck, a dolphin dance. After the aquatic safari, visit the beachfront restaurants: at Pelicanos, the aguachiles and coconut-breaded shrimp make a fantastic end to the day.

In El Triunfo, a mining town in La Paz with just a few hundred residents, true gems await us: the Museo Ruta de Plata (Silver Route Museum) and the Museo Ruta del Vaquero de las Californias (MUVACA), initiatives of the civil association Ándale La Paz, that preserve the region’s identity. One explores the 19th-century mining boom; the other, cowboy culture. Both feature modern audiovisual displays and fascinating details. Have a traditional choyera lunch at Las Alforjas, and before you leave, stop by the gift shop.

Los Cabos is warm all year round, and I’m not talking about the weather. The kindness of its people makes every conversation a genuine pleasure and reveals stories marked by hard work and dedication. Maybe that’s the “something” that makes so many people come for a visit and end up staying. For those of us who must leave, one thing is certain: the wish to return.